The subject matter disclosed herein relates to method for reducing fungal infections and specifically to a method for reducing fungal infections by killing fungi at the hyphal stage.
Disseminated Candida albicans infections represent a growing cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among immunocompromised individuals, surgical patients, and those with implanted medical devices. Candida albicans is a dimorphic fungus capable of existing as a commensal species on skin and mucus membranes of humans. The fungus spends most of its life in the form of multicellular communities called biofilms, heterogeneous mixtures of yeast, hyphae, and pseudohyphal forms embedded in a complex extracellular matrix. The plasticity of C. albicans growth is associated with the virulence of the organism. For instance, the hyphal form of the fungus is capable of invading and disrupting epithelial and endothelial cells, resulting in disseminated disease. Progression of disease is also a function of C. albicans dimorphism, since hyphae enable escape from macrophages. Fungal attachment and biofilm development contaminate implanted medical devices, necessitating removal of the devices to prevent dissemination. In biofilms, the fungus is refractory to removal by drug intervention or the host immune system. Indeed, numerous studies have associated biofilm formation with increasing drug resistance. Multiple factors underlie the increased drug resistance observed in biofilms. These include upregulation of drug efflux pumps as well as biofilm architecture that results in differences in abundance of drug targets and metabolism within the biofilm community. Further complicating the picture is the secretion of the extracellular matrix, which can function to impede the penetration of drugs throughout the biofilm. Concomitant with increasing drug resistance of C. albicans isolates, there is a dearth of drugs and drug targets for the treatment of systemic candidiasis. All current antifungal treatments target an extremely small part of the fungal genome. It is therefore desirable to find new phytochemicals and methods that provide protection from fungal infections. The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.